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Labor Day approaches, which means car giveaways

The calendar is about to flip from August to September. Football is starting and the kids are headed back to school. And, if your casino is like many others, there’s a Labor Day car giveaway.

Of all the holidays and all the promotions, one solid given is that as the first Monday in September approaches, casinos will offer new cars as prizes. Think about it: With new models approaching, this is the time of year the airwaves are flooded with automotive ads. Giving away new cars at that time of year couldn’t be more natural.

Down here in South Florida, my corner of the United States, there are four casinos with promotions. Many have been building up the interest by offering entries into a car drawing throughout August.

“You always want to end the summer with a bang,” says Steve Bonner, general manager of Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, which will give away a BMW on Saturday. “Everybody emotionally wants to end with high note, whether they’re in the casino business or work in a bank. They see that weekend as a last hurrah, so you try to put together something that plays to that emotion.”

Bonner said he’s not locked in to that big hurrah being something you drive. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a car, but the car seems to fit the bill,” he says. “Our aim is aspiration, it’s something to be excited about.”

It’s also vital to have good casino action on the Labor Day weekend. It’s one of the truly locked-in three-day weekends on the calendar. The Fourth of July, by contrast, often falls in the middle of the week.

Porter Randall, a frequent slot player in South Florida, says earning entries to Labor Day car drawings keeps him going in August, which can be a hot, dreary month with less-than-normal interest otherwise.

“You walk into a casino and see that bright, shiny car sitting there, and yes, I’m keeping track of what it is,” says Randall, who describes himself as a “regular” slot player, but has never hit for a big prize. He’s tracking a couple of giveaways for this weekend, he says.

That said, more often than not, if by some chance a player’s name is drawn for the big prize, they tend to take a more businesslike approach. “Reality sets, in and most people end up taking the cash option,” Bonner says.